The Delius Society Journal Autumn 2016, Number 160

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Delius Society Journal Autumn 2016, Number 160 The Delius Society Journal Autumn 2016, Number 160 The Delius Society (Registered Charity No 298662) President Lionel Carley BA, PhD Vice Presidents Roger Buckley Sir Andrew Davis CBE Sir Mark Elder CBE Bo Holten RaD Piers Lane AO, Hon DMus Martin Lee-Browne CBE David Lloyd-Jones BA, FGSM, Hon DMus Julian Lloyd Webber FRCM Anthony Payne Website: delius.org.uk ISSN-0306-0373 THE DELIUS SOCIETY Chairman Position vacant Treasurer Jim Beavis 70 Aylesford Avenue, Beckenham, Kent BR3 3SD Email: [email protected] Membership Secretary Paul Chennell 19 Moriatry Close, London N7 0EF Email: [email protected] Journal Editor Katharine Richman 15 Oldcorne Hollow, Yateley GU46 6FL Tel: 01252 861841 Email: [email protected] Front and back covers: Delius’s house at Grez-sur-Loing Paintings by Ishihara Takujiro The Editor has tried in good faith to contact the holders of the copyright in all material used in this Journal (other than holders of it for material which has been specifically provided by agreement with the Editor), and to obtain their permission to reproduce it. Any breaches of copyright are unintentional and regretted. CONTENTS EDITORIAL ..........................................................................................................5 COMMITTEE NOTES..........................................................................................6 SWEDISH CONNECTIONS ...............................................................................7 DELIUS’S NORWEGIAN AND DANISH SONGS: VEHICLES OF STYLISTIC EXPERIMENT AND CHANGE ................................................... 19 CHASING LATE SWALLOWS ........................................................................ 37 DELIUS, CABLE AND WEXFORD’S KOANGA ........................................... 52 DELIUS, WHOEVER HE MAY BE .................................................................. 61 INSPIRED BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON ............................................... 74 100 YEARS AGO ................................................................................................ 79 DELIUS’S HOUSTON CONNECTIONS ........................................................ 81 THREE GOOD READS...................................................................................... 84 BRAVING THE WEB FOR DELIUS … ........................................................... 86 OBITUARIES ...................................................................................................... 89 Peter Harris (1931-2016) ................................................................................ 89 RETHINKING DELIUS – A CRITICAL SYMPOSIUM ................................. 91 CONCERT REVIEWS ........................................................................................ 95 A Mass of Life ................................................................................................. 95 Requiem in Bielefeld .................................................................................... 100 Delius and Ivor Gurney ............................................................................... 103 Requiem in Cardiff ....................................................................................... 104 CD REVIEWS .................................................................................................... 107 A Village Romeo and Juliet ......................................................................... 107 DVD REVIEWS ................................................................................................. 111 Ken Russell: The Great Composers .......................................................... 111 DELIUS SOCIETY MEETING REPORTS ...................................................... 116 British Music Society Annual Lecture ....................................................... 116 The Delius Prize 2016................................................................................... 117 Delius in Performance ................................................................................. 120 DSJ 160 3 MISCELLANY ................................................................................................. 126 A Village Romeo and Juliet ........................................................................ 126 Conferences in Grez and Torbay ............................................................... 127 Graham Greene and Delius ........................................................................ 128 An Anthony Payne Proms Premiere ......................................................... 128 Eric Fenby ..................................................................................................... 129 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ........................................................................... 130 FORTHCOMING EVENTS ............................................................................ 139 Delius Society London Branch ................................................................... 139 Other Events ................................................................................................. 140 4 DSJ 160 EDITORIAL Welcome to the Autumn issue of the Journal which I am putting together whilst in Malaysia on an examining tour – a fascinating experience but sadly one that is Delius-free! This issue owes much to two Delius seminars which have been held over the spring and summer months. First we had an afternoon event on the day of the Delius Prize final, back in May, at which Professor Daniel Grimley discussed his transcription of Late Swallows (see page 37), Professor Anthony Gritten gave a paper entitled ‘Delius, whoever he may be’, and conductor Bo Holten talked about interpreting Delius. Then, in July, again the work of Daniel Grimley, there was a Symposium at the British Library entitled Rethinking Delius – a Critical Symposium at which leading scholars presented papers on a variety of topics. A review of the day is on page 91, and I am very grateful to Professors Anthony Gritten and Peter Franklin, who have kindly allowed their papers to be reproduced in these pages. Also reproduced in this edition is the text of Jeremy Dibble’s lecture on Delius’s Norwegian and Danish songs, given at the British Music Society meeting in March, which was run in association with the Delius Society. I am very grateful to Jeremy for adapting his talk, which was illustrated so well by baritone Milo Harries, so that it can be enjoyed by readers who were unable to be present. It is wonderful to have so many letters to the Editor in this issue (page 130) – it is excellent to have such ongoing lively debate so please do keep these coming in! It is also good to see that performances of Delius’s music are still being put on all over the world (listing page 140) – and not just The Walk and the Cuckoo: the Double Concerto, Cello Sonata and Brigg Fair all feature in forthcoming programmes. If you plan to attend any of the concerts listed and would be prepared to write a review for the Journal, do please let me know in advance. Please do keep your articles, letters, and other contributions coming in. The copy deadline for DSJ 161, to be published in March 2017, is 1st February. Katharine Richman [email protected] Tel 01252 861841 or 07940 888508 DSJ 160 5 COMMITTEE NOTES In place of the usual Chairman’s notes are notes from the Committee. You will be glad to know that the Committee continues to work hard to keep the Society running, and providing members with a selection of events, the Journal and the Newsletter. Peter Watts, our very capable treasurer, gave notice several months ago that he would be retiring at the 2016 AGM and I hope that those of you who were there took the opportunity to thank him for all he has done. Whilst we will of course miss Peter, we are delighted to welcome in his place Jim Beavis, who very kindly came forward in response to a notice in a previous Journal. Jim brings a huge amount of financial experience to the role and the hand over from Peter has been very smooth. Jim has recently retired from a career as an accountant working for various public sector organisations. He tells us that his musical preferences were inspired by studying Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro for O Level Music and he soon made the natural progression to Debussy before discovering Delius and becoming a member of the Society. His main interest is, however, horse racing, having been inspired by his parents taking him to Brighton races when he was aged eleven. Jim often goes racing, has researched its history for several years, and is the author of a number of books about individual racecourses. We are very grateful indeed to Jim for taking on the Treasurer role. We are delighted, too, that Roger Buckley has agreed to remain on the Committee for another year. Roger was co-opted earlier this year, with specific responsibility for organising the Delius Prize and this year’s AGM at Madingley Hall, Cambridge. You will note that we are still without a Chairman and a Vice chairman. Whilst the Society continues to run, the Committee would be very pleased to hear from any members who may have suggestions as to how they might volunteer their help. In the meantime, any emails sent to [email protected] will be read by Paul Chennell and forwarded on as appropriate. Contact details for members of the Committee are given at the front of the Journal. 6 DSJ 160 SWEDISH CONNECTIONS Lionel Carley, President of The Delius Society and Adviser and Hon Archivist of The Delius
Recommended publications
  • Delius Monument Dedicatedat the 23Rd Annual Festival by Thomas Hilton Gunn
    The Delius SocieQ JOUrnAtT7 Summer/Autumn1992, Number 109 The Delius Sociefy Full Membershipand Institutionsf 15per year USA and CanadaUS$31 per year Africa,Australasia and Far East€18 President Eric FenbyOBE, Hon D Mus.Hon D Litt. Hon RAM. FRCM,Hon FTCL VicePresidents FelixAprahamian Hon RCO Roland Gibson MSc, PhD (FounderMember) MeredithDavies CBE, MA. B Mus. FRCM, Hon RAM Norman Del Mar CBE. Hon D Mus VernonHandley MA, FRCM, D Univ (Surrey) Sir CharlesMackerras CBE Chairman R B Meadows 5 WestbourneHouse. Mount ParkRoad. Harrow. Middlesex HAI 3JT Ti,easurer [to whom membershipenquiries should be directed] DerekCox Mercers,6 Mount Pleasant,Blockley, Glos. GL56 9BU Tel:(0386) 700175 Secretary@cting) JonathanMaddox 6 Town Farm,Wheathampstead, Herts AL4 8QL Tel: (058-283)3668 Editor StephenLloyd 85aFarley Hill. Luton. BedfordshireLul 5EG Iel: Luton (0582)20075 CONTENTS 'The others are just harpers . .': an afternoon with Sidonie Goossens by StephenLloyd.... Frederick Delius: Air and Dance.An historical note by Robert Threlfall.. BeatriceHarrison and Delius'sCello Music by Julian Lloyd Webber.... l0 The Delius Monument dedicatedat the 23rd Annual Festival by Thomas Hilton Gunn........ t4 Fennimoreancl Gerda:the New York premidre............ l1 -Opera A Village Romeo anrl Juliet: BBC2 Season' by Henry Gi1es......... .............18 Record Reviews Paris eIc.(BSO. Hickox) ......................2l Sea Drift etc. (WNOO. Mackerras),.......... ...........2l Violin Concerto etc.(Little. WNOOO. Mackerras)................................22 Violin Concerto etc.(Pougnet. RPO. Beecham) ................23 Hassan,Sea Drift etc. (RPO. Beecham) . .-................25 THE HARRISON SISTERS Works by Delius and others..............26 A Mu.s:;r1/'Li.fe at the Brighton Festival ..............27 South-WestBranch Meetinss.. ........30 MicllanclsBranch Dinner..... ............3l Obittrary:Sir Charles Groves .........32 News Round-Up ...............33 Correspondence.......
    [Show full text]
  • Ref. # Lang. Section Title Author Date Loaned Keywords 6437 Cg Kristen Liv En Bro Til Alle Folk Dahl, Øyvind 1981
    Lang. Section Title Author Date Loaned Keywords Ref. # 6437 cg Kristen liv En bro til alle folk Dahl, Øyvind 1981 ><'14/11/19 D Dansk Mens England sov Churchill, Winston S. 1939 Arms and the 3725 Covenant D Dansk Gourmet fra hummer a la carte til æg med Lademann, Rigor Bagger 1978 om god vin og 4475 kaviar (oversat og bearbejdet af) festlig mad 7059 E Art Swedish Silver Andrén, Erik 1950 5221 E Art Norwegian Painting: A Survey Askeland, Jan 1971 ><'06/10/21 E Art Utvald att leva Asker, Randi 1976 7289 11211 E Art Rose-painting in Norway Asker, Randi 1965 9033 E Art Fragments The Art of LLoyd Herfindahl Aurora University 1994 E Art Carl Michael Bellman, The life and songs of Austin, Britten 1967 9318 6698 E Art Stave Church Paintings Blindheim, Martin 1965 7749 E Art Folk dances of Scand Duggan, Anne Schley et al 1948 9293 E Art Art in Sweden Engblom, Sören 1999 contemporary E Art Treasures of early Sweden Gidlunds Statens historiska klenoder ur 9281 museum äldre svensk historia 5964 E Art Another light Granath, Olle 1982 9468 E Art Joe Hills Sånger Kokk, Enn (redaktør) 1980 7290 E Art Carl Larsson's Home Larsson, Carl 1978 >'04/09/24 E Art Norwegian Rosemaling Miller, Margaret M. and 1974 >'07/12/18 7363 Sigmund Aarseth E Art Ancient Norwegian Design Museum of National 1961 ><'14/04/19 10658 Antiquities, Oslo E Art Norwegian folk art Nelson, Marion, Editor 1995 the migration of 9822 a tradition E Art Döderhultarn Qvist, Sif 1981? ><'15/07/15 9317 10181 E Art The Norwegian crown regalia risåsen, Geir Thomas 2006 9823 E Art Edvard Munck - Landscapes of the mind Sohlberg, Harald 1995 7060 E Art Swedish Glass Steenberg, Elisa 1950 E Art Folk Arts of Norway Stewart, Janice S.
    [Show full text]
  • KULTUR I VÅRDEN Programkatalog 2012–2013 Ungdomar & Vuxna
    KULTUR I VÅRDEN Programkatalog 2012–2013 Ungdomar & Vuxna 1 ” Hos många människor är det verkligen bara kroppen som åldras, under den grånade och rynkiga fasaden ryms en sådan vitalitet och kraft att det känns som att prata med en jämnårig, bara med så mycket större livserfarenhet.” Artist 2 Fotografer: Anders Larsson, Anders Lindholm, Anette Andersson, Anne Björling, Bengt Alm, Carl Thorborg, Charlotte Pålsson, Christian Veltman, Curt Luks, Daniel Sundstedt, Fredrik Juthberg, Gillis Hägg, Gittan Brorson, Gunnar Ridderstedt, Hans Hammarskiöld, Huset i Huddinge, Jaan Koort, Johan Tibbelin, Julia Åsgård, Jörgen Arnstad, Kristoffer Berg, Lisa Bladh, Lisa Lindkvist, Madeleine Johansson, Magnus Selander, Martin Karlgren, Mikael Stenberg, Niclas Archeres, Nigel Harvey, Olle Sundberg, Robert Tärnell, Rolf Adolfsson, Sara Ringström, Stefan Sundkvist, Thorleif Robertsson, Torbjörn Boström. Grafisk form: Soya Kommunikation Tryck: Printfabriken, 2011 3 Kultur som kan läka och stärka Kulturlivet i vårt län har mycket att erbjuda sin publik. Och många invånare är en del av den aktiva och hängivna publik och känner kulturskapandets kraft. Vi mår bra av mötet med konstens olika uttryckssätt. Ibland kan vi inte själva söka oss till kulturen när hälsan säger stopp. Då måste kulturen kunna komma till oss. Även den som är sjuk behöver få tillgång till kulturlivet. Det är detta kultur i vården handlar om. Kultur i vården syftar till att läka och stärka, ge förströelse eller fördjupning. Att få ta del av kulturarrangemang eller genom att själva få vara delaktig i en skapande process, kanske i gemenskap med andra, får oss att känna oss lite mer som den friska människan och lite mindre som patienten.
    [Show full text]
  • The Delius Society Journal Spring 2000, Number 127
    Delius Journal 127.qxd 10-04-2000 09:18 Page 1 The Delius Society Journal Spring 2000, Number 127 The Delius Society (Registered Charity No. 298662) Full Membership and Institutions £20 per year UK students: £10 per year USA and Canada US$38 per year Africa, Australasia and Far East £23 per year President Felix Aprahamian Vice Presidents Roland Gibson MSc, PhD (Founder Member) Lionel Carley BA, PhD Meredith Davies CBE Sir Andrew Davis CBE Vernon Handley MA, FRCM, D Univ (Surrey) Richard Hickox FRCO (CHM) Rodney Meadows Robert Threlfall Chairman Lyndon Jenkins Treasurer and Membership Secretary Derek Cox Mercers, 6 Mount Pleasant, Blockley, Glos GL56 9BU Tel: (01386) 700175 Secretary Anthony Lindsey 1 The Pound, Aldwick Village, West Sussex PO21 3SR Tel: (01243) 824964 Delius Journal 127.qxd 10-04-2000 09:18 Page 2 Editor Roger Buckley 57A Wimpole Street, London W1M 7DF (Mail should be marked ‘The Delius Society’) Tel: 020 7935 4241 Fax: 020 7935 5429 email: [email protected] Assistant Editor Jane Armour-Chélu 17 Forest Close, Shawbirch, Telford, Shropshire TF5 0LA Tel: (01952) 408726 email: [email protected] Website: http://www.delius.org.uk email: [email protected] ISSN-0306-0373 Delius Journal 127.qxd 10-04-2000 09:18 Page 3 CONTENTS Chairman’s Message........................................................................................... 5 Editorial................................................................................................................ 6 ORIGINAL ARTICLES Delius and Verlaine, by Robert Threlfall............................................................ 7 Vilhelmine, the Muse of Sakuntala, by Hattie Andersen................................ 11 Delius’s Five Songs from Tennyson’s Maud, by Christopher Redwood.......... 16 The ‘Old Cheshire Cheese’Connection, by Jane Armour-Chélu.................... 22 Delius and the American Connections, by George Little..............................
    [Show full text]
  • 75Thary 1935 - 2010
    ANNIVERS75thARY 1935 - 2010 The Music & the Artists of the Bach Festival Society The Mission of the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, Inc. is to enrich the Central Florida community through presentation of exceptionally high-quality performances of the finest classical music in the repertoire, with special emphasis on oratorio and large choral works, world-class visiting artists, and the sacred and secular music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries in the High Baroque and Early Classical periods. This Mission shall be achieved through presentation of: • the Annual Bach Festival, • the Visiting Artists Series, and • the Choral Masterworks Series. In addition, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, Inc. shall present a variety of educational and community outreach programs to encourage youth participation in music at all levels, to provide access to constituencies with special needs, and to participate with the community in celebrations or memorials at times of significant special occasions. Adopted by a Resolution of the Bach Festival Society Board of Trustees The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, Inc. is a private non-profit foundation as defined under Section 509(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code and is exempt from federal income taxes under IRC Section 501(c)(3). Gifts and contributions are deductible for federal income tax purposes as provided by law. A copy of the Bach Festival Society official registration (CH 1655) and financial information may be obtained from the Florida Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free 1-800-435-7352 within the State. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the State.
    [Show full text]
  • Percy Grainger, Frederick Delius and the 1914–1934 American ‘Delius Campaign’
    ‘The Art-Twins of Our Timestretch’: Percy Grainger, Frederick Delius and the 1914–1934 American ‘Delius Campaign’ Catherine Sarah Kirby Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Music (Musicology) April 2015 Melbourne Conservatorium of Music The University of Melbourne Produced on archival quality paper Abstract This thesis explores Percy Grainger’s promotion of the music of Frederick Delius in the United States of America between his arrival in New York in 1914 and Delius’s death in 1934. Grainger’s ‘Delius campaign’—the title he gave to his work on behalf of Delius— involved lectures, articles, interviews and performances as both a pianist and conductor. Through this, Grainger was responsible for a number of noteworthy American Delius premieres. He also helped to disseminate Delius’s music by his work as a teacher, and through contact with publishers, conductors and the press. In this thesis I will examine this campaign and the critical reception of its resulting performances, and question the extent to which Grainger’s tireless promotion affected the reception of Delius’s music in the USA. To give context to this campaign, Chapter One outlines the relationship, both personal and compositional, between Delius and Grainger. This is done through analysis of their correspondence, as well as much of Grainger’s broader and autobiographical writings. This chapter also considers the relationship between Grainger, Delius and others musicians within their circle, and explores the extent of their influence upon each other. Chapter Two examines in detail the many elements that made up the ‘Delius campaign’.
    [Show full text]
  • The Delius Society Journal Autumn 1999, Number 126
    Delius Journal 126.qxd 15-Nov-99 17:44 Page 1 The Delius Society Journal Autumn 1999, Number 126 The Delius Society (Registered Charity No. 298662) Full Membership and Institutions £15 per year (£20 from 1 April 2000) UK students: £10 (unchanged after 1 April 2000) USA and Canada US$31 per year (US$38 from 1 April 2000) Africa, Australasia and Far East £18 per year (£23 from 1 April 2000) President Felix Aprahamian Vice Presidents Roland Gibson MSc, PhD (Founder Member) Lionel Carley BA, PhD Meredith Davies CBE Sir Andrew Davis CBE Vernon Handley MA, FRCM, D Univ (Surrey) Richard Hickox FRCO (CHM) Rodney Meadows Robert Threlfall Chairman Lyndon Jenkins Treasurer and Membership Secretary Derek Cox Mercers, 6 Mount Pleasant, Blockley, Glos GL56 9BU Tel: (01386) 700175 Secretary Anthony Lindsey 1 The Pound, Aldwick Village, West Sussex PO21 3SR Tel: (01243) 824964 Delius Journal 126.qxd 15-Nov-99 17:44 Page 2 Editor Roger Buckley 57A Wimpole Street, London W1M 7DF (Mail should be marked ‘The Delius Society’) Tel: (0171) 935 4241 Fax: (0171) 935 5429 email: [email protected] Assistant Editor Jane Armour-Chélu 17 Forest Close, Shawbirch, Telford, Shropshire TF5 0LA Tel: (01952) 408726 email: [email protected] Website: http://www.delius.org.uk email: [email protected] ISSN-0306-0373 Delius Journal 126.qxd 15-Nov-99 17:44 Page 3 CONTENTS Chairman’s Message........................................................................................... 5 Editorial...............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Journal83-1.Pdf
    The Delius Society Journal July 1984',Number 83 The DeliusSociety Full Membershipf,8.00 per year Studentsf,5.00 Subscriptionto Libraries(Journal only) f,6.00 per year USA and CanadaUS $ 17.00 per year President Eric Fenby OBE, Hon D Mus, Hon D Litt, Hon RAM Vice Presidents The Rt Hon Lord Boothby KBE, LLD Felix AprahamianHon RCO Roland GibsonM Sc,Ph D (FounderMember) Sir CharlesGroves CBE Stanford RobinsonOBE, ARCM (Hon), Hon CSM MeredithDavies CBE, MA, B Mus, FRCM, Hon RAM Norman Del Mar CBE, Hon D Mus Vernon Handley MA, FRCM, D Univ (Surrey) Chairman R B Meadows 5 WestbourneHouse, Mount Park Road,Harrow, Middlesex Treasurer Peter Lyons 160 WishingTree Road, St. Leonards-on-Sea,East Sussex Secretary Miss Diane Eastwood 28 Emscote Street South, Bell Hall, Halifax, Yorkshire Tel: (0422) 50537 Editor StephenLloyd 85aFarley Hill, Luton,Bedfordshire LUI 5EG Tel: Luton (0582)20075 Contents Editoria! 'Delius as they saw him' by Robert Threlfall Kenneth Spenceby Lionel Hill t9 Margot La Rouge at Camden Festival 2l RPS Sir John Barbirolli concert 23 Midlands Branch meetins: Arnold Bax 24 Cynara in the Midlands 24 Midlands Branch meeting: an eveningof film 25 Forthcoming Events 26 Acknowledgements The cover illustration is an early sketchof Delius by Edvard Munch (no. 1 in Robert Threlfall's Iconography,see page 7), reproducedby kind per- missionof the Curator of the Munch Museum, Oslo. The photographicplates in this issuehave been financed by a legacyto the Delius Societyfrom the late Robert Aickman. The photographson pp. 8, 9 and 17 are reproduced by kind permission of Andrew Boyle with acknowledgementto Lionel Carley, the owner of the two heads.The two photographson page 13were taken by the Editor with the permissionof Denis Blood.
    [Show full text]
  • Boston Symphony Orchestra Concert Programs, Season 124, 2004-2005
    2004-2005 SEASON BOSTON SYM PHONY ORCHESTRA JAMES LEVINE m *x 553 JAMES LEVINE MUSIC DIRECTOR BERNARD HAITINK CONDUCTOR EMERITUS SEIJI OZAWA MUSIC DIRECTOR LAUREATE Invite the entire string section for cocktails. With floor plans from 2,300 to over Phase One of this 5,000 square feet, you can entertain magnificent property is in grand style at Longyear. 100% sold and occupied. Enjoy 24-hour concierge service, Phase Two is now under con- single-floor condominium living struction and being offered by at its absolute finest, all Sotheby's International Realty d harmoniously located on Hammond Residential Real Estate an extraordinary eight- GMAC Priced from $1,725,000. acre gated community atop prestigious Call Hammond at (617) 731-4644, Fisher Hill ext. 410. LONGYEAR a/ Jisner JH:ill BROOKLINE CORTLAND SOTHEBY'S Hammond PROPERTIES INC. International Realty REAL ESTATE m4WH "nfaBBOHnirAn11 Hfl Partners McLean Hospital is the largest psychiatric facility of Harvard Medical School, an affiliate HEALTHCARE of Massachusetts General Hospital and a member of Partners HealthCare. REASON #11 open heart surgery that's a lot less open There are lots of reasons to consider Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for your major medical care. Like minimally invasive heart surgery that minimizes pain, reduces cosmetic trauma and speeds recovery time. From cardiac services and gastroenterology to organ transplantation and cancer care, you'll find some of the most cutting-edge medical advances available anywhere. To find out more, visit www.bidmc.harvard.edu or call 800-667-5356. Israel A teaching hospital of Beth Deaconess Harvard Medical School Medical Center Affiliated Re with Joslin Clinic | A Research Partner of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center | Official Hospital of the Boston ^^^^^^^^^^^1 James Levine, Music Director Bernard Haitink, Conductor Emeritus Seiji Ozawa, Music Director Laureate 124th Season, 2004-2005 Trustees of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • The Critical Reception of Tippett's Operas
    Between Englishness and Modernism: The Critical Reception of Tippett’s Operas Ivan Hewett (Royal College of Music) [email protected] The relationship between that particular form of national identity and consciousness we term ‘Englishness’ and modernism has been much discussed1. It is my contention in this essay that the critical reception of the operas of Michael Tippett sheds an interesting and revealing light on the relationship at a moment when it was particularly fraught, in the decades following the Second World War. Before approaching that topic, one has to deal first with the thorny and many-sided question as to how and to what extent those operas really do manifest a quality of Englishness. This is more than a parochial question of whether Tippett is a composer whose special significance for listeners and opera-goers in the UK is rooted in qualities that only we on these islands can perceive. It would hardly be judged a triumph for Tippett if that question were answered in the affirmative. On the contrary, it would be perceived as a limiting factor — perhaps the very factor that prevents Tippett from exporting overseas as successfully as his great rival and antipode, Benjamin Britten. But even without that hard evidence of Tippett’s limited appeal, the very idea that his Englishness forms a major part of his significance could in itself be a disabling feature of the music. We are squeamish these days about granting a substantive aesthetic value to music on the grounds of its national qualities, if the composer in question is not safely locked away in the relatively remote past.
    [Show full text]
  • Ken Russell the Great Composers Elgar; the Debussy Film; Song of Summer
    Ken Russell The Great Composers Elgar; The Debussy Film; Song of Summer These astonishing documentaries, by ground- breaking director Ken Russell (Valentino, The Devils) were originally broadcast in the BBC TV arts documentary strands Monitor and Omnibus during the 1960s. On 28 March 2016 they will be released together on DVD and Blu-ray in a Dual Format Edition by the BFI. Each film has an audio commentary, and in a new filmed interview, film editor Michael Bradsell talks about working with Ken Russell. Also included is rarely-seen archival footage of Sir Edward Elgar. Elgar (1962), Russell’s tribute to the music he loved, is remarkable for its sensitive portrayal of the rise of a young musician from an underprivileged background to international fame. The Debussy Film (1965), co-written by Melvyn Bragg, is a truly experimental work that culminates in a sublimely ethereal finale. Perhaps the finest of Russell’s 1960s biographical BBC productions, Song of Summer (1968) is an immensely moving story of sacrifice, idealism and musical genius which charts the final five years in the life of Frederick Delius. Ken Russell The Great Composers is released alongside its companion, Ken Russell The Great Passions, which features Always on Sunday (1965), Isadora (1966) and Dante’s Inferno (1967). Special features Newly remastered and presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition Land of Hope and Glory (1931, 3 mins): footage of Sir Edward Elgar conducting the LSO at the opening of the new HMV (now Abbey Road) studios Elgar and the
    [Show full text]
  • The War to End War — the Great War
    GO TO MASTER INDEX OF WARFARE GIVING WAR A CHANCE, THE NEXT PHASE: THE WAR TO END WAR — THE GREAT WAR “They fight and fight and fight; they are fighting now, they fought before, and they’ll fight in the future.... So you see, you can say anything about world history.... Except one thing, that is. It cannot be said that world history is reasonable.” — Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoevski NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND “Fiddle-dee-dee, war, war, war, I get so bored I could scream!” —Scarlet O’Hara “Killing to end war, that’s like fucking to restore virginity.” — Vietnam-era protest poster HDT WHAT? INDEX THE WAR TO END WAR THE GREAT WAR GO TO MASTER INDEX OF WARFARE 1851 October 2, Thursday: Ferdinand Foch, believed to be the leader responsible for the Allies winning World War I, was born. October 2, Thursday: PM. Some of the white Pines on Fair Haven Hill have just reached the acme of their fall;–others have almost entirely shed their leaves, and they are scattered over the ground and the walls. The same is the state of the Pitch pines. At the Cliffs I find the wasps prolonging their short lives on the sunny rocks just as they endeavored to do at my house in the woods. It is a little hazy as I look into the west today. The shrub oaks on the terraced plain are now almost uniformly of a deep red. HDT WHAT? INDEX THE WAR TO END WAR THE GREAT WAR GO TO MASTER INDEX OF WARFARE 1914 World War I broke out in the Balkans, pitting Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Serbia, the USA, and Japan against Austria, Germany, and Turkey, because Serbians had killed the heir to the Austrian throne in Bosnia.
    [Show full text]